1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to desk top computer control devices such as desk top operated mice, of the type having a rotatable ball for pointing control, and which further include depressible buttons which can be depressed inward to a main housing by the user's finger for scrolling applications in Windows or the like.
2. Description of the Related Prior Art
Prior art desktop operated computer control devices for pointing control and for controlling certain functions of computers, such as the mouse type desktop operated computer control device, have been used for years, the structures of which and means for interfacing with computers and computer programs being well understood by those skilled in the art.
The term "desktop" associated with desktop mouse and/or desktop operated computer control device(s) as herein used has the meaning of the mouse (computer control device) resting on top of or being supported on a desktop or like stationary surface when operated for controlling the pointer and other functions of the computer, thereby the user's hand and arm remain in a rested or supported position, thus eliminating the undesirable "tired arm syndrome" associated with continuously holding aloft hand supported computer control devices.
A typical prior art desktop mouse comprises a housing usually small enough to be graspable and operable in a single hand. Within the housing is a rotatable ball in-part exposed through a bottom opening of the housing, so that movement of the housing across a surface such as a desktop rolls the ball which is engaged with the surface. Ball movement detectors within the housing, commonly being rotary encoders, such as optical encoders, detect movement of the ball relative to the housing, and electronics in the housing transmit information about ball movement to the computer, via wire (cables) or wireless communication. The computer uses the information in a manner appropriate with the software setup, but typically a cursor or pointer shown on the monitor is moved in the direction of the housing movement.
The rotatable pointer control ball arrangement of a conventional desktop mouse is a certain position type pointer control device or arrangement. Such certain position type pointer control provides advantages (particularly when associated with the limited positions possible on a monitor screen) because a certain rotational position of the ball can directly correspond to a certain location on a computer monitor screen. Pointer control on hand supported computer control devices, sometimes referred to as remote controllers or remote mice such as sold by Interlink Electronic, Inc. of Camarillo, Calif., USA, are operable via a variable speed pointer control button (and possibly scroll control button), yet such devices do not contain the very accurate rotatable ball for pointing control, thus such devices having no rotatable ball for pointing control are considered inferior and not to be within the scope of the herein described invention or the legal claims and their equivalents for claims that include a rotatable ball in the claim. The certain pointing control of a rotatable ball pointing device is clearly superior to any device having pointing control embodied as a vector output device such as depressible buttons or joystick type of manipulated input.
A desktop trackball is a very similar device to a desktop mouse but with the rotatable ball exposed on the top of the housing for rotating by hand, the housing being stationary in use atop a desktop, and thus the term mouse and trackball are herein interchangeable and usable as synonyms of one another, as this disclosure teaches improvement of desktop ball type pointer control devices, and specifically such rotatable ball type devices with depressible buttons dedicated for scrolling control.
Exposed on the exterior top of the housing of the typical or conventional desktop mouse is a plurality of finger depressible selection buttons, commonly two buttons and sometimes more than two, the two buttons commonly referred to as a right select button and a left select button. The finger depressible buttons interface with momentary-On sensors or sensors used only as momentary-On On/Off sensors by the electronic circuitry. The momentary-On sensors are simple On/Off switches which assume a normally off or open position, and which interface between the exposed buttons and the circuitry within the housing. The momentary-On sensors typically are positioned between the exposed button portions and the circuitry which is typically on a circuit board or member sheet or the like. The exposed depressible buttons allow interfacing of a human digit such as a finger or thumb in a natural movement with the electrical switches to close the switches in order to control the circuitry to actuate (or deactuate) a function of the computer via a function-control signal generated electronically in the circuitry and communicated to the computer.
In more recent years, computer desktop mice with pointer control balls have been developed to include exposed finger depressible buttons associated with electrical switches or sensors operable for screen or window scrolling control, such switches or sensors being either structured such that they can be used only as momentary-On only On/Off switches, or being used in conjunction with the associated circuitry such that the switches are only read as having two readable states, On and Off, or activated and de-activated. Such Window or screen scrolling switches allow scrolling vertically up and down if two switches are used, one switch for each direction, and both vertically and horizontally (left and right) if four switches are used.
Such prior art computer desktop mice which include window or screen scrolling finger depressible buttons associated with switches (sensors) generally use one of two types of common switches, i.e., packaged switches or elastomeric dome-cap type switches.
The first type of switch is a packaged momentary-On only On/Off switch capable of providing only two readable states. A typical packaged momentary-On only On/Off switch generally comprises a depressible button-like actuator movably retained to a housing, a pair of electrically conductive proximal circuit elements each in-part within the housing and each in-part exposed exterior of the housing to allow connection thereof to a circuit board, the proximal circuit elements being normally separated from one another within the housing until the depressible button is depressed sufficiently to bring an electrically conductive concavo-convex resilient metal disk downward to contact across both the proximal circuit elements to in effect serve as a conductive link to close the circuit. Upon release of the depressive pressure on the button, the conductive concavo-convex metal disk being resilient, returns to a raised normal position wherein the electrical path across the two proximal circuit elements is again rendered open. The metal disk typically remains in constant contact with one of the proximal circuit elements. A prior art computer desktop mouse which I have seen on the market which uses such packaged switches for use in control of scrolling functions is sold under the tradename of WEB MOUSE with the mouse retail packaging further including MAXXTRO and MUS8 printed thereon.
The second type of switch commonly employed in prior art computer desktop mice which include window or screen scrolling finger depressible buttons associated with such sensors is an elastomeric injection molded dome-cap switch or sensor. A prior art computer desktop mouse currently on the market which uses such elastomeric injection molded dome-cap switches or sensors for use in control of scrolling functions through depressible buttons is sold under the tradename of NET MOUSE by KYE INTERNATIONAL. U.S. Pat. No. 5,657,051 issued Aug. 12, 1997 to J. Liao and assigned to KYE International, describes such a mouse but with the dome-cap switches (only On/Off switches) utilized to control pointer movement along a third or "Z" axis.
The Liao mouse additionally includes the limitation of always having a pivot on the "Z" key preventing simultaneous actuation of the two "Z" axis switches, thus depriving the user of an additional benefit of being able to press down on the center of the Liao's "Z" key whereby both switches would be actuated simultaneously for use in defining a third function or control output, for example the third control output (which Liao's pivot prevents) may toggle select a mode in which movement of the rotatable ball controls scrolling.
As utilized by Liao, and all other known prior art, elastomeric injection molded dome-cap momentary-On switches (sensors) are well known and widely used as On/Off switches incorporated in many different devices. In all known prior art where the elastomeric dome-cap sensor is employed, the molded dome-cap is always used as a component of a sensor having a simple conductor with a single electrical threshold serving as a simple make or break (closed or open) electrical switch in a circuit. The term elastomeric is used to describe any rubber-like material, whether natural or synthetic.
Structurally, the prior art elastomeric injection molded dome-cap carries a normally raised conductive element or disk referred to as a pill or a carbon pill. The conductive pill is herein sometimes referred to as the "active element". The active element in prior art elastomeric injection molded dome-cap sensors is commonly made of a binder of elastomeric or rubbery material binding carbon particles, carbon containing material or like conductive material. The active element is normally connected to the top inside of the non-conductive elastomeric dome-cap and above two proximal highly conductive elements or traces so that with depression of the dome-cap, such as with pressure applied by a finger or finger depressible button, the active element is moved with the collapsing dome-cap into contact with both proximal conductive elements and closes an otherwise normally open circuit. Since the injection molded dome-cap is resilient, with release of pressure on the dome-cap it returns to a raised position carrying the active element with it to open the circuit. Electronic circuitry associated with the two proximal conductive elements, which are either bridged or not bridged by the active element of the elastomeric dome-cap, is circuitry which in the prior art has always been structured only to detect or read an electrical threshold event, i.e., an electrical open or closed, only On/Off states across the proximal conductive elements.
As those skilled in the art will appreciate, most, but not all elastomeric injection molded dome-caps when depressed produce a soft snap, tactile break-over, which is a user discernable tactile feedback. This tactile feedback occurs when the dome-cap is depressed beyond a given point; the point being where a mechanical threshold is crossed and the tactile "snap" is produced. The snap defining the tactile sensation occurs just prior to the temporary collapse of the dome-cap structure, thus the active element is brought into contact with the two proximal conductive elements. The tactile sensation is perceived by the user as occurring at the same time the sensor is activated, which in the prior art is when the switch is closed. The switch remains closed until such time as the user releases pressure on the dome-cap, at which time the dome-cap being made of elastomeric material returns to a raised position carrying the active element with it and off of the proximal conductive elements. The elastomeric injection molded dome-cap typically again produces a tactile sensation as it moves upward crossing the mechanical snap-through threshold. The metal concavo-convexed disk of packaged switches as above described also typically produce a tactile sensation when depressed and also when released.
Elastomeric injection molded dome-caps are typically molded primarily of thermoset rubber, are one-piece absent joints or seams, and provide excellent durability for a very low cost. The active element in the prior art is typically adhered to the inside top of the dome-cap during the injection molding phase of manufacturing the dome-cap.
Another type of electrical sensor employed on desktop mice for scrolling control is a rotary encoder type such as a rotary optical encoder functional with a bi-directionally rotatable exposed wheel as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,530,455 issued Jun. 25, 1996 to W. G. Gillick. The Gillick prior art rotatable scroller wheel is not considered an optimal interface between a human digit and electrical sensor because of the unfamiliar or non-conventional rotatable aspect requiring a finger motion substantially different than a depressible button, and further because of the rather high cost of optical encoders, and additionally the rotatable wheel is not optimum as a scroll controller for moderate to high speed scrolling because scrolling speed is determined by wheel rotation speed, and high wheel rotation speed is difficult to achieve by finger manipulation. Furthermore, in a low cost mouse, additional high cost optical encoders may be cost prohibitive.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,313,229 issued May 17, 1994 to F. G. Gilligan et al describes a prior art computer desktop mouse with a scroll control lever on the side of the housing and coupled to optical encoders for allowing the user to scroll screens in multiple directions and at multiple user determinable scroll rates dependant upon which direction the level is moved and where it is held by the thumb of the grasping hand. The Gilligan et al lever-actuated scroll control is considered less than optimal because of the high costs of optical encoders and because of the un-familiar and awkward nature of a thumb lever positioned extending outward from a side of the mouse housing. The Gilligan et al thumb lever is designed to be controlled with thumb movement by the same thumb which is supposed to be aiding in grasping the housing, an operation which is difficult and un-familiar, and thus considered less than optimal. Also, the Gilligan device allows for only one axis of simultaneous control, not two axes.
A prior art desktop mouse taught in U.S. Pat. No. 5,659,334 issued Aug. 19, 1997 to S. L. Yaniger et al and marketed by IBM includes a short joystick lever in the forward top center of the mouse for use in screen scrolling control in two axes or four directions with user determinable variable speed. The short joystick is sized for and intended to be manipulated by a single finger used to push the stick forward, left or right, or to pull the stick rearward. A short finger actuated joystick is considered less than an optimal finger-to-sensor interface primarily because the pushing of the stick to the left or to the right with a finger of a hand gripping the mouse is difficult and not an ergonomically ideal movement of the finger. A natural and ergonomically correct movement of the finger is curling the finger toward the palm, a movement used with mice finger depressible buttons as the action to depress the button inward to the housing, and not the sideways lateral movement necessary to operate a short joystick.
The typical functionality of a desktop mouse scroll control is that assuming proper software is used, activation of a desktop mouse scroll control depressible button, thumb-lever, joystick or roller causes scrolling of the active window or viewed screen. Such scrolling control eliminates the need for the user to carefully locate the pointer on a small window elevator showing on the monitor and to maintain the pointer on the elevator during scrolling.
While screen or window scrolling buttons of the type which are finger depressible inward to the housing, much like the very common and ergonomically correct depressible right and left select buttons common on most all prior art computer mice, provide substantially greater ease in scrolling through windows or screens compared to using a roller, thumb-lever or joystick as described above, there still exist significant shortcomings in the art pertaining to finger depressible button actuated scrolling controls on the desktop mouse having a pointer control ball.
One such shortcoming is that since the finger depressible buttons for scrolling control are associated with On/Off switches or circuitry and switches arranged to provide or read only two readable states of each of the switches, then when initiated, scrolling is at a predetermined scroll rate, the rate not determinable by the user by manipulation of varying pressure to the depressible scroll buttons, and thus the rate may be and often is either too slow or too fast for the user's purposes and liking. While finger depressible buttons, i.e., push buttons actuated by finger movement in a natural, slight finger-curling toward the palm motion, for scrolling control are highly desirable on a desktop mouse because of their ease of operation, natural and ergonomic finger movement, and familiarity to a large percentage of the population who have become accustomed to ergonomically correct push buttons for left and right selection functions on desktop mice, the predetermined scroll rate associated with such buttons is a significant shortcoming in such a computer control desktop mouse.
Clearly, all prior art desktop computer mice having a rotatable ball for precise pointer control, fail to deliver optimum user control of window or screen scrolling by failing to deliver user determinable variable scroll rate in a low cost, ergonomically correct, familiar and desirable finger depressible button arrangement.